Saturday Night Lights

And so it begins....... Fall sports. It was a gorgeous night and the parents did a bit of tailgating before hand. The boys won 34-0 and the best part was watching D-man having so much fun in the sidelines. He was very into the game. 

After he gave the play by play to Marshall Claudia, and Bob, we talked about the game a lot. Two things that made me happy during our conversation: he said he just likes being with his friends and he said he felt sorry for the other team. Every now and then, I do think we are doing something right (especially as I lay in bed with the boys next to me). 

On the way to the game 

Getting ready! 

#6 taking it in from the sidelines under a beautiful sunset 

A Good Book

School has started. T-man was hesitant to start any of the books we had because they "didn't look good." Well, after a stern talking to about not being negative, trying new things, and working hard, he tried a book we had and he LOVED it. He was even reading this morning at breakfast and finished it tonight. Thankfully, there are three more books in the series! 

First day of "High School"

Today D-man embarked on another "first" - the first day in a high school classroom. He's understandably nervous and doesn't like getting up early, but we know he is going to rock it and as Marshall told him this morning, he deserves to be there. We also feel fortunate that we can make this happen easily - he bikes to the middle school, walks over to the high school and then walks back with a few 8th graders and heads right to PE. Pretty slick. 

FOE in MSP

A business trip to Minneapolis for a speaking engagement as part of the Future of Email event meant a long weekend with my sis and her family (thank you Marshall and thanks to the Marshall's for letting me stay!). The timing wasn't great as I missed the boys' first days of school, but I survived the event and had a great time in Minnesota. We got in lots of walks, good meals and drinks, some shopping, doughnuts, and wrapped it up with lunch at the beach today. Jacki pointed out this makes 3 of 4 summers I have visited - pretty great. 

Walk around the lake on Thursday with Major 

View of downtown from the lake 

The boys with their Pez dispensers I brought 

We finally found Pez and working to get them in the dispensers while shopping at Marshall's 

Only pic of the sisters 

Happy baby! 

Baby time!

Nephews in the lake, beer and lunch at the beach - pretty good day!

The Middle of Middle School

D-man started school today as they reserve the first day of school for 6th graders. He was able to get his schedule changed and now has study hall at the end of the day which is great. It's a bit yard to believe that during this school year, we will have a teenager...... 

Here's hoping it is a great year in the middle of midde school. 

4th Grade - Here we come!

T-man started 4th grade today (getting so big). He biked with his friend (again, getting so big). I was bummed to miss he first day, but when I called to ask how his first day was, he said, "GREAT." That is definitely a good sign and makes it a bit easier to be away. 

It appears he also hooked up with a bunch of neighborhood kids - yay! 

Boondocks Boondoggle

I'm off tomorrow for Minneapolis, so after my 2:00 meeting, we headed to Boondocks for go karts, bowling, mini-golf, laser tag and video games. When we first got there, I got on the wifi and finished up work. During the 4 games of bowling, we also enjoyed appetizers and pizza. We fortunately, beat the storm and got the go karts in. It was nice outing to wrap up our summer, but I still can't believe it's over. 

Concert at Red Rocks

A beautiful night for a concert at Red Rocks (Marshall's first). We had a nice time tailgating and then rocking out to Brandi Carlisle and then Old Crow Medicine Show. In general, I'm not a huge live music fan, but Red Rocks is an amazing venue for a concert. The pictures don't do it justice.  And, we had a nice time sans kids hanging out with friends. 

Tailgating 

The ladies 

At the concert 

Red rocks 

Denver in the background 

Louisville Week

We canceled camp this week and let the inmates run the prison this week. It ended up being a great week as the boys biked to Sweet Cow, biked to lunch at Subway, played with friends, went swimming, played in the Jr. Open Golf Tourney (DKP), played basketball at the Rec Center, stayed up late, slept in, and watched the Olympics.  Marshall was home on Wednesday and I was home on Friday so it was a good balance of alone time and some time with us around. Plus, they learned how to do laundry, fill and empty the dishwasher, water the plants, and trying to manage their time. 

Plus, we had a soccer party at the pool on Thursday night and last minute dinner outing with friends while we sent the kids to the pool with pizza. I also had my best round yet during ladies' league. It's nice to be home. 

Thursday night golf 

The Torch has been Passed

The boys are staying home alone this week which means the chore list is in full swing. It's just like the Karlen summers although chores like weeding the garden and going outside with the dog aren't going to make our list. 

Here's a text I sent to Marshal after chatting with D-man. From the update at dinner, it was a successful day!  

"Just talked to drake to make sure oven was off :) they are heading to pool/basketball after lunch until around 3:30. Then water plants and homework and then biking to sweet cow. A boys with a plan - I love it!" 

And per the usual, T-man didn't want to bike to Sweet Cow, but that was the favorite part of his day.

Traveling Uncle Matt is Back

A really wonderful weekend with Matthew here. He flew in Thursday with Marshall's cousin on his biplane and has spent the weekend with us. Adult time. Kid time. Olympic time. Cooking time. Good time. Family time. So nice to have a few days with Matthew before he flies back to Spain. 

Tequila shots after dinner Friday night 

Enjoying the Street Faire 

Beers at 12 degrees 

Playing 500 at the pool (before lunch by the pool on Saturday) 

After some Arduino coding and calculator  fun 

Bocce ball at the pool Sunday (making sure the rules are correct 

Peavy men watching the Olympics 

Building a Bank

T-man spent the majority of the day building a "bank" out of cardboard. He saw a video this morning and got after it. He used cardboard, a box cutter, and a hot glue gun to make his creation. It was so fun to see him solving problems, learning new things, and building something. 

Inserting the "credit card" to get the money 

Showing Dad and Uncle Matt how it works 

Putting the money in 

Wacky Wednesday

T-man is in soccer camp today and wore all green to support his team. Marshall picked up kiddos at lunch, grabbed pizza, and then tried to get work done with a posse of kids around. According to Marshall, not much has changed in 40 years as the kids spent more time planning out the game and rules than actually planning it.   

T-man then went to "soccer camp" hosted by a neighborhood Dad and spent time at the pool cooling off. We joined him with dinner at the pool and D-man headed to a sleepover. A pretty good summer day! 

Lasting Lake Memories

I find myself not wanting to go to sleep as it means vacation is officially over. T-man went to bed chanting, "I want to go tubing" and D-man, Marshall and I wrapped up our epic word game (which upset D-man but was fitting). A few last memories. 

Taking it all in 

Last night at the fire 

Morning boat ride before departing 

Our final score 241k! 

Water Skiing!

We spent a lot more time on the water than in years past. Lots of tubing and water skiing. D-man learned to get up on one ski and T-man gave skiing on two skis a try. I was so impressed with both of their attitudes about working at it. I have a feeling we will be on the water even more in the years to come. Thanks to Marshall and Claudia for the great driving! 

T-man up for a few seconds under the watchful eye of Dad 

One ski! 

Me on skis. Not pretty but I do it! (No pics of Marshall as I wasn't on the boat when he was skiing.